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Did you see them try that on Mythbusters? They shot several rounds into a full propane tank, but it never exploded. They tried armor piercing rounds, which did puncture the tank which releases a big ball of gas, but no flame. Eventually, they shot a bunch of incendiary rounds from a gatlin gun at it and it finally when up in a huge ball of flame.

But, just for safety's sake, don't try it at home

I am sure there are YouTube videos of it if you search there.

that's because the mythbuster guys are a bunch of amatuers, you're supposed to put a roadflare next to it to ignite it when it goes poof... sheesh, kids today...

20 LB cylinders

Originally Posted by team moxiepup

I found this on the Maine Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management site.

What Can I Do With My Old Propane Tank?

The valves on gas grill propane cylinders have been redesigned to increase safety. Because of this redesign, you may find yourself with a propane cylinder that can't be refilled. Rather than chuck it out on the back 40 where it can cause environmental contamination, try these options.

Call local propane dealers to see if they offer a valve replacement or tank recycling service. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Gas –Propane" for propane dealers near you.

If your local propane dealer won't take them, check with your town office or solid waste facility to find out what arrangements they have for their residents to get rid of old tanks. Towns are working with propane dealers, cylinder recyclers, and scrap metal dealers to get the lowest price possible for getting tanks recycled.

The newer tanks for gas grills, the 20LB variety, have been outfitted with new valves called OPD. Overfill protection device. The old way to fill a tank was to weigh it and fill it up to a certain weight. Great if you can do the math. The new valves prevent you from overfilling the tanks. The liquid is around -45 degrees below zero. I have seen what it does to your skin. Ouch!

I appreciate all of the help here. Thanks! I have not found anyone to recycle the tanks, but have found many who will dispose of them. I will look into refilling them.

Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

I have also found that walmart will take it on the exchange system that they use. But I would check with them.

Yes - WalMart works with Blue Rhino. They'll take your old-style tank in exchange for a full tank with the new OPD valve. Blue Rhino takes the old tanks, removes the old valve, recertifies the tank, installs a new valve, fills the tank, and puts it back out in their sales points (i.e., WalMart).

Back when Blue Rhino was expanding, they'd take the old-style tanks for free. Now they'll only accept them as an exchange.

that's correct

Originally Posted by Opalsns

I'm not sure about other places, but where my son works, the container HAS to have that over fill valve on them or he can't fill it .
Opalsns

The tanks are date coded and it's now a State law, that they cannot be refilled unless they are OPD. The 20LB tanks, older ones, can be recycled through your local town. Probally for a fee. In Windham they charge $10.00, per tank.

Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.